


A Cat's Tale

by t_dactyl



Category: Love Live! School Idol Project
Genre: F/F, Love Live Big Bang 2016, also cat ears, cute gay stuff basically, i died writing this, little baby gays
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-01
Updated: 2016-11-01
Packaged: 2018-08-28 09:02:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 13,606
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8439556
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/t_dactyl/pseuds/t_dactyl
Summary: A little kitty falls for a human and with the help of a couple friends, things get cute and gay.my submission for the love live big bang 2016, also posted on my tumblr





	

**Author's Note:**

> i slaved over this hot fic for like 3 months and my amazing, super patient partner [thegrandstaff](thegrandstaff.tumblr.com) on tumblr put out some awesome [art](http://thegrandstaff.tumblr.com/post/152573506110/my-art-contribution-to-the-love-live-big-bang) that is also on tumblr, i legit love them and their art, go love them too  
> have these cute ass gay angels

You know for a fact that you’re nothing but ordinary. Just a little brown kitten born to a stray mother in the hollow of a tree in a park. Not the biggest of the litter, but definitely no the runt. An average stray with nothing special about it at all.

 

But not to Rin-chan.

 

It was one day around dusk that a young girl wandered into the park, dragging her feet and hanging her head, looking dejected. All of your siblings had since left the park, even your mother leaving the little den she had made to birth you all and going back to wandering, leaving you and your siblings to fend for yourselves. You’d chosen to stay in the park, too afraid to leave the only place you’ve ever known. So you’re the only thing occupying the park other than the girl and it piques your interest.

 

She shuffles her way over to the merry go round, tossing her school bag onto the ground before sitting down and shifting her legs to rock the hunk of metal in a subtle back and forth motion. Her head is still down, shielding her eyes from view with her ginger hair. You’re curious as to why she’s out here when it’s so close to dark and more so why she’s alone in this state.

 

You creep out of your hidey-hole, edging closer cautiously to maybe get a better look.

 

As you near the girl, you start to her slight sniffles and you can’t help but approach faster, hurried along at the sound of this girl’s upset. Something must have happened to make her come to cry in the park and while you were taught to be cautious of humans, this girl doesn’t seem like she would do you any harm, especially in this state.

 

She must notice your movements because her head snaps up, body tensing and becoming rigid. But when she notices you, a small and unassuming cat, she relaxes and even gives you a watery smile.

 

“Hello, Koneko-chan.”

 

Her voice is rough from crying, but soft and doesn’t startle you. She slowly moves, offering her hand out in your direction, and you inch closer, tail raised high and tip hooked down. You close in, sniffing at her fingers as she stays still to keep from scaring you off. She smells friendly, but sad and you slowly nuzzle your cheek into her palm, trying to convey comfort because such a cute girl should not be this sad.

 

A giggle sounds from above and you glance up at her to see her other hand rubbing away the evidence of her tears, “Do you live here, Koneko-chan?”

 

You meow up at her and continue to rub on her hand, knowing you mean it as an affirmative but that she won’t understand. 

 

“Rin lives near here too. I used to play here when I was a little kid. I guess I just needed something to cheer me up. You’re just what I needed, Koneko-chan.”

 

The sadness that laces her words break your heart for her, it makes you want to take on whatever made this sweet girl upset and fight it to the death. But her saying that you’re what she needed touches something inside you. You’ve never been that for someone, something important that could lift their spirits and it makes you feel anything  _ but  _ ordinary. It sparks something in you and you want to continue to be that for her, to be that special thing that can help her through whatever troubles her.

 

But. (There’s always a but in these situations.)

 

You’re just a cat.

 

The girl -- Rin, if you can assume the name she said was her own -- sneezes then, jerking you from your thoughts and making you jump in surprise.

 

“Oh…” she wipes at her nose, but more sneezes follow. “Koneko-chan-” a sneeze, “I’m sorry but-” another, “I’m allergic!”

 

She stands quickly, startling you back a few paces.

 

“Oh no…” she pulls a handkerchief from her bag and holds it to her nose, “Rin didn’t mean to scare you! I-I have to go, but I’ll come back, I’m sorry, Koneko-chan.”

 

With that, she rushes off, seeming to have momentarily forgotten her previous sadness in favor of focusing on her allergy. You’re sad to see her leave, but you’re glad that you offered enough of a distraction for the time being, even if her being allergic to you might not be the best kind of distraction.

 

You can only hope that she does intend to come back and turn to go about finding something to eat for the night.

 

You’d be sorely disappointed if you never saw Rin-chan again.

 

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Rin-chan comes to the park intermittently, sometimes she does and sometimes she doesn't. She comes after school, more often than not with a spring in her step and a playful attitude. She plays with you until her allergies act up and then leaves with promises to return soon.

 

But some days she comes dragging her feet with slumped shoulders. It's on one of those days where she admits to you her insecurities. The other people at school would question her on her femininity and make her question herself.

 

When Rin-chan would detail these encounters and how they would make her feel inadequate, it made your blood boil. How dare they do that to Rin-chan? If only you could be there to protect her, to reassure her that she is the cutest girl you've ever seen. But you can't, you can't even speak to her now, all you can do is meow sadly and rub against her in a show of support.

 

“Thank you, Koneko-chan. Rin will be fine, don't worry.”

 

That day she leaves before she even starts sneezing and you're afraid you'll never see her again.

 

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You shouldn’t have worried about Rin-chan coming back. The next day, she walks into the park, more spring in her step and her backpack clutched in her hands rather than on her shoulder.

 

You’re currently tucked up in the tree hollow that your mother abandoned, safely out of sight from any children that come into the park or any predators that think a little kitten would make a quick snack. With your timid nature, it isn’t very often that you’re caught out of your den, mostly only when you need to get food.

 

But when you catch sight of Rin-chan, looking more chipper than yesterday, you ease your way out slowly and meow loudly to get her attention.

 

“Koneko-chan!”

 

She bounds toward you and you instinctively take a few steps back, causing her to slow her approach., “Oh no, sorry! Rin didn’t mean to scare you, again.”

 

She holds up her hands in the universal signal for surrender and meaning no harm, and you think that she should be glad that there are no people in the park at this hour to catch her talking like this to a cat.

 

“But wait!” She perks up again. “I have something for you!”

 

Rifling through her bag for a moment, she produces a box from inside. She opens it with a flourish, sending the scent from inside in your direction. At the smell of food, you can’t help but amble closer to her. It doesn’t smell like anything you’ve ever eaten before, but that’s not saying much since you’ve mostly been stuck eating out of trash cans or catching mice, as one is wont to do in your position.

 

“I saved some of my lunch for you.”

 

She produces a white lump from the box before plopping herself down on the ground, holding it out to you.

 

You can't reign in your curiosity and hunger at the same time so you find yourself closing the distance and sniffing at the offered food before taking a cautionary bite.

 

_ Bliss _ .

 

It has to be the best thing you will ever eat in your entire life. You don't know what this white stuff is but you could probably eat it for every meal or just constantly without pause. You dig in, chewing the little pieces or just scarfing them down, trying to savor the delicate flavor while also satisfying your hunger.

 

“You like rice, Koneko-chan? Just wait ‘til you get to the middle! There's a surprise!”

 

You barely note what Rin-chan is saying to you, but as you get to the middle of the ball of white, you taste something other than that wonderful delicacy. You nose it out of the ‘rice’ and identify it by smell as a type of fish, not unlike the things that the human from the fish market slips you if you catch them on trash day. Your tail flicks happily as you tuck into the fish, a protein that you rarely get to enjoy. With the combination of delicious rice and fish, you'll probably be full into the next day.

 

In mere moments, you’ve finished the whole thing, licking up any remnants of the meal from Rin-chan’s hand. She giggles at the feel of your rough tongue, “I guess you really liked that, Koneko-chan!”

 

Meowing loudly, you show your appreciation by nuzzling into her hand and then rubbing your body against her bent legs.

 

“Oh no no,” she interrupts herself with a string of sneezes, “I’m sorry, I have to go now.”

 

She dashes off and you’re left sitting there, regretting your affection. You’d love to spend more time with Rin-chan and be closer to her but with her allergy, that just doesn’t seem possible, not with you being a cat and all. It seems as though you’ll be stuck with this distance forever, that is if Rin-chan even decides to keep coming back.

 

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“I see you have a little problem, Kitty.”

 

At the sudden voice behind you, you nearly launch yourself to the heavens, fur on edge and tail puffed. You yowl loudly and hiss, hoping to put off whoever scared you.

 

“Oh, hush. There’s no need for that.”

 

Though you turned at the noise, you find that is behind you again and you whorl around to face it.

 

In front of you stands a blonde woman, though not like any you’ve ever seen before. She crouches before you in an outfit not unlike that of a shrine maiden but the bells on the outfit as well as the ears and tail give her away as something else. The ears on her head twitch as you hiss again and the mass of tails behind her sway in amusement. Her blue eyes sparkle with mischief.

 

“Now, is that any way to treat someone who wants to do you a favor?”

 

You cautiously relax your defensive stance at her seeming lack of threat, but your tail still stays up and puffed, showing that you’re not to be trifled with (even if you are approximately eight pounds at most).

 

She smiles, “That’s better. Now, about that favor. I’ve seen you with your little human friend, how she has to leave and you have to stay here, all alone. But I know someone who can help, who can make it so you can stay with her.”

 

The offer is appealing -- more than appealing really -- you would do anything to stay with Rin-chan, but it does seem a little too good to be true.

 

“I see that look,” she says, “Why would I do something like that for you while getting nothing in return, right? Well, you see, I’ve been trying to endear another human to myself and I think if I brought you to her so she could do this for you, she’d fall head over heels for altruistic little ole me. So will you take me up on this?”

 

You huff out a breath at her explanation, but if it came down to being with Rin-chan and not having to be alone here all the time, you should at least check out the option. You meet her eyes and nod. You just hope you’re not making a huge mistake.

 

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The woman -- Eli-chan, a kitsune, she introduced herself as -- takes you into town, carrying you in her arms. You wonder how she’s able to walk through the streets with her ears and tails, how no one stops to gawk at her appearance, but she whispers to you that her magic tricks people into just seeing a nice, normal young woman and her cat. You look up at her in awe but she pays you no mind as she heads toward a large shrine.

 

Despite the size and location, there aren’t many people around and Eli-chan pays them no mind as she makes a beeline for a shrine maiden who seems to be sweeping up.

 

“Nozomi!”

 

The shrine maiden looks up, seeing Eli-chan and how she's carrying you.

 

“What have you got there, silly fox?”

 

Your ears perk at her term of endearment and you look up at Eli-chan hoping for an explanation. She smiles.

 

“Nozomi is special,” she stage whispers down at you, making it loud enough that Nozomi-chan can hear, “She has great spiritual powers and can see me for what I really am, always.”

 

As you turn wide eyes back on Nozomi-chan, you catch her smiling mysteriously at the two of you. Your ears pin back in caution, but you have to at least see what they have in store before you decide to bolt.

 

“This,” Eli-chan says dramatically while lifting you higher, “little one needs a bit of help and I thought we could give it to her, y’know, as a sort of bonding experience.”

 

Nozomi-chan laughs a bit at Eli-chan’s antics but gestures for her to follow as she turns toward the inner parts of the shrine.

 

“Just what can I help a little cat with, Elichi? Finding a nice sunny spot to nap? Or better yet, a nice, fat mouse?” Nozomi-chan jests on a laugh.

 

“Actually…” Eli-chan speeds in front of Nozomi-chan and moves in close, leaving you pressed between their bodies as she leans in to whisper in her ear. “This little kitty wants to be with a human, but there are a couple things keeping them apart. I know how you like a little romance, I thought we could collaborate on this and get her together with her person. A little bonding experience.”

 

She’s shed her magical disguise and the flicking of her tails is visible as she meets Nozomi-chan’s eyes in a charged staring contest; you can’t help but feel like you’re witnessing a private moment so you meow loudly to remind them of your presence.

 

“Oh,” Nozomi-chan starts like she’s surprised and turns her attention to you. “Sorry about that, kitty. Well, Elichi is right about me being a sucker for a bit of romance. So how about we try and work something out so you can be with your human?”

 

You meow loudly again, this time happily, tail twitching in excitement and Eli-chan puts you down and follows Nozomi-chan over to a bookshelf where they search through titles while speaking quietly to each other.

 

After a moment, Nozomi-chan seems to find the book she was after and quickly leafs through it, finding the page and going about preparing for who knows what.

 

You watch from a corner as she pulls out some parchment, ink, and brushes and starts to write out characters while still whispering to Eli-chan. She then proceeds to draw a circle on the ground filled with more characters and mutter under her breath for a bit over the circle. She fetches some candles and has Eli-chan light them before placing them evenly spaced on the circle. Once this is done, she pops up into a standing position and walks over to you, lifting you gently and cradling you in her arms.

 

“Now, kitty, what I’m about to do is use powerful magic, that of both myself and Elichi, to make it possible for you to be with your human. Is this really what you want?”

 

At this point, you’re not really sure what’s going on. You’d just assumed that they would make it so that you were hypoallergenic or something so that Rin-chan wouldn’t have to run off sneezing every time she was with you. But it seems as if they’re going to do something more extreme. But you want to be around Rin-chan more, so this is a risk you’re just going to have to take. You give her a solemn nod, or about as solemn as a little cat can give.

 

“Alrighty then, here we go!”

 

She sets you down in the middle of the circle and then goes over and retrieves the parchment she had written on. She crouches and is just about to stick it to her forehead when Eli-chan dashes over from her place by the wall and whispers something in her ear causing them to lock eyes for a moment and share a mischievous grin. Nozomi-chan dashes over to the ink and brush and makes a quick little change on the paper before sticking it to you, blocking your vision and leaving you sightless while they go about doing what seems to be some sort of magical ritual.

 

“We’re going to start now, kitty. Just relax and close your eyes. This won’t hurt a bit.”

 

You fidget, nerves at what is about to happen starting to get to you, but you close your eyes and focus on breathing and Rin-chan. If you think about Rin-chan and not the unknown that is about to happen, it won’t seem as scary. You hear Nozomi-chan and Eli-chan speaking but you can’t make out what they’re saying, only that the atmosphere of the room has become charged, a power surging in the air.

 

The air in the room seems to thicken with magic and you have to force yourself to take deeper breaths and close your eyes tighter to force back any panic. It gets to the point where it starts to feel suffocating, but then with an audible  _ snap  _ the magic is sucked out of the room and you feel… different.

 

You’re definitely colder than you were a moment ago.

 

Your eyes snap open in panic only to be reminded that you have a little scroll stuck to your forehead, blocking your vision. You raise a paw to bat it away, only to realize your paw is not a paw at all.

 

“W-WHAT?!”

 

At the cry, you slap your paws -- no wait,  _ hands  _ \-- over your mouth and turned your frantic gaze to Nozomi-chan and Eli-chan.

 

The are both smiling at you, looking proud.

 

“Honestly,” Nozomi-chan starts, “I didn’t think it’d work.”

 

Eli-chan laughs, “You would doubt our power, Nozomi? But, wow, she came out  _ cute _ . I don’t think she’ll have any trouble getting her human.”

 

You scrabble backwards awkwardly with your new limbs, your eyes darting and taking in your new,  _ human  _ form -- hands and feet in place of paws, exposed flesh instead of fur, hair falling in your eyes from your head, and your tail-

 

Wait… tail?!

 

“I still have a tail?!”

 

“And cat ears,” Eli-chan’s voice is laced with amusement, “I thought it’d be cute, and I was right. Right, Nozomi?”

 

“Why would you do that?! Wait, why did you make me human? Uh… human-ish.”

 

“Kitty,” Nozomi-chan holds her hands up in a placating manner, “We made you human so that you can be with the human you like, isn’t that what you wanted? To be with her? The ears and tail are just a little fun on our part, but you kind of have to keep them now.”

 

“I-I do want to be with Rin-chan, but I didn’t know you’d do  _ this _ ! She’ll probably think I’m some sort of weirdo with these things.”

 

You run your hands over this now body, feeling all the soft human flesh that is exposed thanks to your lack of fur and then running your hands over your hair and feeling your ears -- the only familiar thing other than your tail. You can see that your hair is the same color that your fur was and you figure that your ears will blend well.

 

Nozomi-chan and Eli-chan don’t look the least bit apologetic as they continue to assess you.

 

“Well…” Eli-chan simpers, “we could just turn you back and let you deal with this on your own, stuck as a cat while your allergic human leaves you every day.”

 

“Elichi, don’t give her ultimatums, she’s just in shock. Give her a moment to get acclimated to her new body. And while we do that, go fetch her some clothes, you know where my locker is. Get her my spare clothes.”

 

Eli-chan pouts as she heads deeper into the shrine to do Nozomi-chan’s bidding and you’re left with the purple haired woman. She keeps her eyes respectfully off your body and directed at you face and you think you would be grateful if you were actually a human because the courtesy really means nothing to you. You have no shame in nudity as a cat.

 

“Nozomi-chan, what am I going to do as a human? I don’t know how to be human, let alone live like one? I’m afraid this might have all be a waste on me…”

 

“Oh kitty,” Nozomi-chan comes closer, bring you into the fold of her arms, “If I thought you couldn’t do it, I wouldn’t have performed the spell. I saw something in you even as a cat, I believe in you.”

 

“B-but how am I even going to live among them, the humans? I don’t have a home outside of the park and I don’t know how to provide for myself…and I can’t see very well. Do all humans see this blurry?”

 

Nozomi-chan goes to answer, but in that moment Eli-chan bustles in with clothes in hand and fusses about getting you dressed. The clothes aren’t that bad of a fit, the top fabric only a little loose and the bottom fabric hanging low on your hips, your tail hanging by your legs under the flowing fabric. 

 

“Okay! What now?” Eli-chan looks expectantly at Nozomi-chan.

 

“First, I think you need a name, kitty. You can’t just go around without one. I mean, Kitty could be your name if you don’t have anything else in mind.”

 

“N-no thank you. I don’t want to be called kitty. But I’m not particularly good with names…”

 

Eli-chan sidles up beside you and puts her arm around your shoulders, “That’s alright, we can help. What are some things you like? We can go off of that, maybe.”

 

“Well… I like Rin-chan! A-and rice. Oh! And flowers, the park had a lot of pretty flowers that I would rub on sometimes… um-”

 

But Eli-chan is already muttering to herself, “Hmmmm, flowers… ‘hana’... I’ve got it! How about Hanayo? I think I’ve heard it as a name before, it’s pretty, right?”

 

Your face breaks into a smile, “Y-yeah! I like it! Hanayo, I’ll be Hanayo!”

 

“Very nice, you two,” Nozomi-chan smiles placidly, “And for a surname, how about Koizumi, there was a Prime Minister with that name and I think Koizumi Hanayo has a nice ring to it, don’t you?”

 

You’re nearly vibrating with the excitement of having a proper name, “Yes! I love it! Koizumi Hanayo!”

 

Nozomi-chan and Eli-chan both laugh happily along with you in your excitement and beam at you. Maybe being human isn’t so bad after all.

 

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It’s later that day that Nozomi-chan puts a hat on your head and leads you out of the shrine.

 

“I’m done for the day and I have to go home, but don’t worry, I called in a favor and got you some place to stay.”

 

You’re not sure where Nozomi-chan is taking you, but as she leads you through the streets, the house look bigger and nicer and you start to feel intimidated by the nice neighbor hood. It becomes obvious to Nozomi-chan with your slowed pace and the twitching of your tail that can be seen under your ‘skirt’.

 

“Don’t worry, Hanayo-chan. My friend Maki-chan owed me a favor and is going to let you stay with her and take care of you. I’ve explained the situation and she promised to look after you and help you adjust to being human.”

 

You're coming up on a large, breathtaking house. It looks very clean and upscale, like nothing you've never seen living around the park in a simple neighborhood. When you reach the gate, Nozomi-chan hits some button and a loud buzzing sound comes through, making you jump and puff your tail.

 

“No worries, it's just to let Maki-chan know we're here. No need to be afraid.”

 

You nod, embarrassed at your lack of knowledge of human things.

 

After a moment, the door of the house opens and a girl about Rin-chan’s age comes out. She has red hair too, but not like the bright orange of Rin-chan’s, a darker color, more fire engine than sunset. She looks put together and slightly annoyed but when she opens the gate, she does not greet the two of you unkindly.

 

“Hello, Nozomi. Cat person.”

 

She sounds bored and a little put upon, probably because Nozomi-chan has basically forced her into taking in and taking care of you.

 

You don't want her to dislike you so you immediately speak up and bow at the waist.

 

“I-I’m Koizumi Hanayo! Thank you for looking after me!”

 

You hear a giggle from Nozomi-chan beside you which causes you to look up and you catch Maki-chan blushing furiously.

 

“It’s no big deal! I just owed Nozomi.” she looks to the purple haired girl, “This better make us even.”

 

“It makes us more than even, Maki-chan. Really though, thank you for this.”

 

Maki-chan folds her arms across her chest and turns away, still with a faint flush to her cheeks, “I told you, it’s not a big deal. I just told my parents that a friend of mine had trouble at home and needed to stay for a while. Papa said it was fine.”

 

Nozomi-chan smiles widely at Maki-chan and then turns to you, wishing you luck and saying her goodbyes before turning and walking down the street. She’s not even a few houses away when Eli-chan drops down from seemingly nowhere and joins her. The cute little display makes you giggle.

 

“Okay,” Maki-chan speaks up to get your attention, “Time to get inside, it’s getting late.”

 

She turns and leads the way through the gate and toward the front door, obviously expecting you to follow. You scamper along behind her quickly, letting the gate fall closed and hearing the lock engage. You wouldn’t want your new host to get annoyed with you.

 

Once inside, you can’t help but gape at the sheer size and the classy decor of the house. The color scheme seems to be mostly creams and warm woods, all very upscale and something you surely would never have seen in your lifetime as a street cat. You’re afraid to touch anything, lest you ruin something.

 

You follow Maki-chan closely, not wanting to get yourself lost in this big house and not wanting to lose sight of the one person you know in here. She leads you up some stairs and takes you down a plushly carpeted hallway. She stops in front of the doors and opens it without any fanfare.

 

“I had this guest room made up for you, it’s where you’ll be staying while you’re here.”

 

The room is quite large, the bed taking up a good portion of it and looking like the most comfortable thing you will have ever experienced in your short life. It has the same color scheme as the rest of the house with off-white bedding and a dark wood frame, a hardwood floor, the same dark wood for the door and also for the bedside table and dresser. There is another door on the right wall and you look at it curiously before turning your attention to Maki-chan.

 

She notices your curiosity and goes to explain, “That’s the door to the bathroom. You do know what a bathroom is for, don’t you?”

 

You want to say yes, if only to pretend that you know at least some things about humans, but you don’t want to be caught out not knowing later so you timidly shake your head no.

 

Maki-chan sighs heavily before leading you to the ‘bathroom’ and gesturing around the room.

 

“That,” she points to a great white bucket looking thing with silver tubing, “is a bathtub, it’s where you wash. You fill it with water or use the shower to have water fall on you and use soap in order to get clean. Most people use it once a day.” She goes over and turn the knobs, startling you when the water starts to rush. “That,” she points to a white chair looking thing with a little basin with water in it, “is a toilet. When you have to…  _ go  _ you sit on it, do your business, and then hit the lever to flush it.” She hits the lever to ‘flush’ it and this time you’re better able to stifle your jump of fright at the sound. “That,” she points at the last thing in the room, a counter with yet another basin in it, “is the sink. After you use the toilet, you wash your hands there and that’s where you go to brush your teeth. There is a spare toothbrush and toothpaste in the space under the sink and towels on the rack are good for you to use. Got all that?”

 

She ran through everything pretty quickly and you think you’ve got everything down. Well.. except for one part… 

 

“Um, I-I’m sorry but… what do you mean by  _ go _ ?”

 

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After Maki-chan painstakingly had to detail what one does in the toilet, the both of you need a moment of repose so Maki-chan leaves you to get familiar with your room while she goes to inform her parents that you’ve arrive and are settling in. 

 

You take the time to explore your new room. You find that the bed is indeed as soft and inviting as it looks and when you lie down in it for a moment, all you really want to do is curl up as tight as you can and sleep for a nice long while. But you are as curious as any other cat, even in your now more human form, and you force yourself up to check the dresser and nightstand. There is nothing of interest in the nightstand, nothing at all actually, but the dresser has a small collection of clothes in it. These must be Maki-chan’s clothes because they look much like the things you’ve seen young girls wear when they come by the park. You wonder why they’re in here and not Maki-chan’s room when the realization hits that she must have put them here for your usage.

 

The sudden realization of her kind gesture hits you and you think of all the things that these literal strangers have done for you. Nozomi-chan and Eli-chan made you human (human-ish but you can’t complain) and now Maki-chan is not only opening her home to you, but also seemingly letting you use her clothes. You just feel so luck that these kind strangers saw fit you do these things for you and you fear that it will all have been a dream and that you will wake up, just a sad little kitty in the park again. They did all these things so that you can be with Rin-chan and you will be damned to let all their work and kindness go to waste. You’re more determined than ever to be there for Rin-chan and be by her side in whatever way you can.

 

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The next few days are spent with you trying to get accustomed to your human body and living as a human in Maki-chan’s house.

 

Maki-chan gives you ribbons or hats to cover your ears and you stick with long skirts to hide your tail and meeting Maki-chan’s parents is awkward because you accidentally went in to sniff her mother without thinking. Not a very human thing to do. But while they think you a bit odd, they are very welcoming and kind to you, her mother even going out of her way to make you food often even though they have a chef that could very well do it for her. Maki-chan is helpful with teaching you human mannerisms, like how to eat with ‘forks’ and ‘spoons’ or how to tie shoes. She even offered to teach you how to read one day soon. She pretends that she doesn’t like helping, but you can see that she likes being looked up to like this and you’re happy to give her that satisfaction.

 

It’s two days after Maki-chan has taken you in and you are awoken earlier than usual by a bustling about the house. You rise, making sure your tail is hidden in your nightgown and slipping a thick headband on your head to hide your ears without suspicion. Upon hearing Maki-chan’s groggy voice from the hall, you peek out to see her wearing what you assume is some type of uniform. It seems a bit familiar to you, but your don’t think too hard on it.

 

“Maki-chan? What’s going on?”

 

You’re quiet not only because of the early hour, but because you’ve learned not to startle Maki-chan right after she’s gotten up.

 

She looks over, still probably half asleep, “I have to go to school today. I’ll be back later.”

 

Before you can say anything else, one of the house workers rushes up and hands Maki-chan a cup of what you can smell is a very strong coffee and leads her downstairs and presumably out of the house and to her school.

 

You’re left in the house with just the workers who don’t seem particularly inclined to speak with you unless it pertains to their jobs, so you spend your time in one of the ‘dens’ watching ‘television’ and basking in the warm sunlight that filters in through the large windows. But your mind keeps drifting back to Maki-chan a her school.

 

You wonder about her school, where it is and what it’s like and you can’t help your curiosity from growing the longer you think on it. You want to know where it is, what it’s like, what people do at schools. Rin-chan had talked about her school and about how the kids would talk about her, so maybe school isn’t a nice place… but then again, if you were to learn about school and what to do in them, then maybe you could go to Rin-chan’s and be there for her against those other kids.

 

That thought seals your resolve to find out about schools and you rush back to your room, hurriedly dressing like you’ve been taught, making sure the clothes are on right like Maki-chan showed you and that your ears and tail are not readily visible. The shoes are a bit of a challenge until you toss away the ‘sneakers’ and settle for ‘flats’. Shoelaces are fun to play with but tying them is the worst.

 

After you’re dressed, you rush downstairs, catching the attention of one of the housekeepers who stops you.

 

“Are you alright? Is there something you need?”

 

She startles you, but you collect yourself quickly enough to respond, “U-um yes! Um, I was wondering if I could go to Maki-chan’s school… to see her?”

 

The woman smiles kindly at you and gestures for you to follow before leading you out of the main house and into the garage. There is another woman dressed in what Maki-chan called a suit leaning against a nice looking car reading a magazine. She doesn’t notice you walk in, but when the housekeeper clears her throat, she jumps and hurries to hide the magazine behind her back.

 

“Ryo,” your companion speaks, “slacking off again, I see.”

 

Ryo-chan smiles slyly and shrugs, “Ah, Rakshata, you know me, it’s just what I do.”

 

Rakshata-chan giggles before seeming to realize that you’re still there watching and blushes before straightening and putting on a more serious tone.

 

“Yes, well. I know you’re leaving soon to pick up Maki, and her friend would like to come with you to get her. Would that be alright?”

 

Ryo-chan also tried to appear more serious but fails miserably when her smirk slides back onto her face, “Yeah, not a problem. I’ll just be toting around  _ two  _ pretty girls then.”

 

She winks at you and you blush and giggle nervously. She is indeed charming with a certain charisma, but you can tell that she does this quite often, flirting openly like that. You might be new to human things, but you can pick out a flirt this obvious.

 

“Ryo, don’t creep on Maki or her friend. It’s unbecoming.”

 

Ryo-chan laughs loudly, “Sorry, sorry. I’ll cut it out.” She turns back to you. “Well, might as well get going now, Maki will be out soon.”

 

She opens up the door to the ‘car’ and you try not to hesitate as you climb in. The seats are stiff and have an odd smell, but your try not to let it bother you as Ryo-chan closes you in and goes around to the front of the car. You wave at Rakshata-chan through the window, but when she doesn’t react you realize that she must not be able to see you through the dark glass. You watch Rakshata-chan turn back toward the house and walk away as Ryo-chan turns something and the car roars to life.

 

You’ve never been inside a car before and the sound of the engine turning over frightens you, making your tail wind tight around your leg and your ears pin back tight against your head, but your try to relax as Ryo-chan navigates the car through the streets.

 

“So,” she calls back at you, “You’re Hanayo, right? How did you meet Maki?”

 

Her friendly conversation gives you something to focus on other than the movement of the car and the streets whizzing by, so you answer.

 

“U-um, yes. A friend of mine just so happened to be friends with Maki-chan and she introduced us.”

 

“Ah, cool cool,” she takes her eyes off the road for a quick second to glance back at you, “Is it okay to ask why you’re staying with the Nishkinos? It’s totally fine if you don’t want to talk about it, I’m just curious is all. I don’t mean to pry.”

 

“Oh, no no, it’s no problem at all. It’s just that recently, there have been very drastic changes in my life and I found myself without any idea what to do with myself. You see, I-I wasn’t always like this and now that I am, I just don’t know a lot of things and Maki-chan has been kind enough to take me in and teach me so much. She doesn’t like to show it much, but she really is very kind.”

 

Ryo-chan nods sagely. “I get it, falling on some hard times and needing someone in your corner to help you out. I’m glad Maki’s there for you. And just so you know, I’ll help you out if you ever need it too, kiddo.”

 

You blush at yet more kindness from relative strangers but you smile nonetheless, “Thank you, Ryo-chan. I’ll keep that in mind.”

 

“Be sure that you do. But anyway, we’re here!”

 

The distraction of the conversation means that you missed the whole ride (which you are quite thankful for) and you’ve reached the school already. You look out of your window, noticing the large brick building and all the girls funneling out. The girls all wear variations of the same uniform and something in the back of your mind keeps niggling at you, something you can’t quite put your finger on. There is something familiar about the clothes, but you just can’t put your finger on it.

 

But it doesn’t take long for the reason for the familiarity to become apparent.

 

Maki-chan comes out of the school with her usual annoyed face, but that’s not what catches your attention. Fluttering around Maki-chan is an achingly familiar redhead.

 

Rin-chan looks lively as ever at school, she wears the same uniform and you finally realize why the uniforms were so familiar to you. You’d seen Rin-chan more than once wearing that same outfit, but you’d never paid much mind to it as a cat. But now Rin-chan is here, approaching the car with Maki-chan and you don’t know what to do.

 

Rin-chan doesn’t know you in this form and how would you ever explain to her that the little cat that she’d befriended at the part just so happened to also be the semi-human girl that was now living with Maki-chan. You’d sound insane!

 

You don’t really have much time to panic, however, because Maki-chan is approaching the car with Rin-chan not too far behind. You’re not sure what to do, do you get out of the car and greet them or do you stay put and let Maki-chan discover your presence when she opens the door? The wringing of your hands is reaching a worrying pace when the decision is taken away from you as Maki-chan opens the door and sees you.

 

“Hanayo?”

 

“H-hello, Maki-chan.”

 

A dark blush has spread across your cheeks, you’re quite positive of that and Maki-chan looks at you in confusion.

 

“What are you doing here?”

 

“Um, well… I wanted to see your school… and Ryo-chan said it was fine to ride along with her to get you and, well…sorry… ” you trail off, eyes down cast and voice fading to nothing in your embarrassment.

 

You hear a sigh before you feel a hand on your slumped shoulder, “It’s fine, Hanayo. There’s no need to apologize. You should have said you wanted to come to school, I would have worked something out.”

 

At her touch, you slowly lift your head to look at her face and you see that she’s avoiding looking at you and blushing as well and it makes you smile at the Maki-chan-esque action. But when your eyes drift from Maki-chan’s face and catch on Rin-chan watching the interaction curiously behind her, you stiffen immediately. Your shoulders rise, coming it up by your human ears as your cat ears pin back and your tail puffs, hidden under your skirt, your hands coming up to clasp at the front of your shirt and your blush brightens even further as a high pitched squeak slips past your lips.

 

Rin-chan’s eyes widen while fixed on you and without your cat ears, you wouldn’t be able to hear the faint “cute…” that falls from her mouth and her cheeks flush.

 

“What?” Maki-chan takes in the interaction and in a split second you know her mind it running a mile a minute and she will be taking to you about this later, but for the moment she just decides to try and make this interaction a fraction more normal. “Ah, Hanayo, this is a classmate of mine, Hoshizora Rin. Rin, this is Koizumi Hanayo.”

 

Maki-chan’s introduction breaks Rin-chan’s staring and she turns quickly to the other redhead.

 

“Hey, Maki-chan! You won’t even introduce me as your friend! Mean!”

 

Rin-chan puffs up and looks extremely affronted, looking more like an offended cat than you ever could. Her actions pull a giggle from you and when Rin-chan hears, she deflates, blush returning and a shy smile making its way onto her face.

 

“It’s nice to meet you, Hanayo-chan.”

 

The familiar honorific makes a pleasant warmth spread through your chest and you give Rin-chan a bright smile, “Nice to meet you too, Rin-chan.”

 

She breaks into awkward laughter, red to her ears at this point and you don’t think you’ve ever seen anything more adorable than an embarrassed Rin-chan. You want this moment to drag out so that you can ingrain it in your memory forever, but Maki-chan breaks it after a moment.

 

“Well, this has been sufficiently weird, so I’m going to suggest that Hanayo and I get going now. See you tomorrow, Rin.”

 

Rin-chan starts at Maki-chan’s abrupt statement, “A-ah, yeah, see you tomorrow, Maki-chan.” She turns back to you, blush still prevalent and fidgeting with her hands a bit, “Maybe I’ll see you too, Hanayo-chan?”

 

“Maybe,” you smile back shyly.

 

She nods once, flashing you and Maki-chan a bright smile before turning and bounding off, turning a few yards away and waking frantically before darting out of sight.

 

You’re still smiling like a lovesick fool when Maki-chan impatiently taps on the open car door.

 

“Hanayo, I need you to move so I can get in and we can go home.”

 

Startled out of your daze, you shoot her an apologetic smile and scramble to the other side of the back seat and allow Maki-chan to get in the car. She shuts the door and with a gesture to Ryo-chan (who had be uncharacteristically quiet for what you’ve seen of her) the car is off again, on the way back to Maki-chan’s house.

 

The two of you sit in silence for a moment and you’re kind of aching to ask Maki-chan about Rin-chan and her school, but Maki-chan beats you to the punch.

 

“So what was that back there,” she waves her hand seemingly disinterestedly over she shoulder, “with Rin.”

 

You tense at the question, “N-nothing! It wasn’t anything!”

 

She gives you a deadpan stare, “I’m not stupid, Hanayo. Tell me the truth.”

 

At her serious look you deflate, a sigh escaping, “So I might not have told the whole truth about why Nozomi-chan helped me and why I am what I am now…”

“Okay,” she shoots you a serious look, “but I want the full story when we get home.”

 

You nod an affirmative at her request and the rest of the ride passes in silence.

 

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At Maki-chan’s house, her mother offers to make the two of you tea and Maki-chan agrees before leading you into the sitting room.

 

“I usually do homework in here and I’m going to get it started as you tell me about what happened, if that’s alright with you.”

 

She doesn’t phrase it as a question, so you don’t answer, just follow her into the room and take a seat across from where she’s setting out her school books. Her mother comes in shortly and leaves the tea with a pleasant smile and you’re left with Maki-chan and the pressing weight about what you’re about to unload on her. She waits patiently for you to start, looking over her work and not pressuring you with what you have to tell her. After a few long, silent minutes, you work up your courage.

 

“As a cat, Rin-chan would come and keep me company and as I got to know her and she told me about herself, I came to lo- I came to care about her a lot. But, Rin-chan is allergic to cats and couldn’t stay with me for long no matter how I felt for her. Eli-chan saw that attachment that I had for her and she and Nozomi-chan agreed to help me so that I could be with Rin-chan. I-I swear that I didn’t know you were friends with Rin-chan when you took me in and I didn’t mean to keep this from you, I just didn’t know how to bring it up. I hope this doesn’t change the way you think of me.”

 

You end your explanation with your eyes downcast and focused on your hands wringing in your lap, waiting for Maki-chan to say something,  _ anything  _ after what you just told her.

 

“Hanayo,” her voice is soft. “Look at me.”

 

Slowly, you raise your eyes to meet hers through your lashes, “I’m not going to look at you any differently because of who you like,” her cheeks turn a dark red at her honestly, but she presses on, even though she turns and can’t quite meet your eyes any longer. “I’m glad you told me. Rin is a good person, she’d be lucky to have someone like you.”

 

You smile and giggle happily, not noticing how close to tears you were before and wiping the corners of your eyes quickly, “Thank you, Maki-chan.”

 

She bristles and stands quickly, “It’s nothing. I just can’t have you moping around the house. It’s not like I care about this anyway.”

 

Seemingly forgetting about her books and tea, she bustles out of the room, leaving you to giggle fondly at her antics. You may have only known Maki-chan for a short time, but you are quickly coming to think of her as a very dear friend.

 

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For the next few days, you accompany Ryo-chan to pick up Maki-chan, partially because this ‘school’ thing is interesting and to spend more time with Maki-chan, but mostly for a chance to see Rin-chan. Most of your interactions with Rin-chan are stilted embarrassed greetings but you still cherish every one. 

  
  
  


After a few days, Maki-chan does not get up in the morning to go to her classes and when she does emerge from her room for the day, she informs you that it is the weekend and that there is no school that day or the next. You can’t help but be a bit disappointed that you won’t be able to see Rin-chan today, but you really can’t complain because you’ve been seeing her for little bits for the past week and you think you should be grateful for even that. You have resigned yourself to spending the day napping, hanging around the kitchen staff, and watching that ‘television’ again, when Maki-chan’s phone rings.

 

She groans from her spot next to you on her couch, setting down the book she’d been studying from and reaching for her phone on the little table in front of the television. You glance up from your curled up position, ears flicking toward her at her groan and tail flicking with interest. Maki-chan said it was fine for you to go without a hat or something to hide your tail today because all the house worker and her parents would be out for the day, so you’ve taken the opportunity to fully relax and not censor all your cat mannerisms so harshly.

 

Maki-chan glances at the screen quickly before tapping it and pressing it to the side of her head, “Yes, Rin?”

 

Your ears perk considerably and your tail lashes quickly once at the sound of Rin-chan’s name and you turn your head to give Maki-chan your full attention.

 

She pauses probably listening to what Rin-chan is saying, but you can’t pick up the other side of the conversation. “Why are you inviting me so last minute? Couldn’t you have mentioned this yesterday at school?”

 

Maki-chan sounds a bit annoyed, but you can see that whatever Rin-chan offered is tempting her because she sits forward a bit, focusing on the conversation just that bit more.

 

“You forgot?” Maki-chan sounds incredulous but she sighs after a second, “And you said you’re going with who?”

 

You watch on as Maki-chan listens for a moment and then a slight blush comes to her cheeks, “Yeah alright, I’ll be there. I’m bringing Hanayo with me too then.”

 

At you name, you sit up completely and tilt you head in question as Maki-chan ends the call. 

 

“Rin wants to go to an amusement park so she’s going with Nico-chan and Nico-chan’s siblings. Rin wants us to come along too.”

 

“O-okay! I would love to!”

 

Maki-chan nods and gets, turning to the door, “Alright, then get dressed and we’ll leave in thirty minutes. We have to meet them at two and we have to get there on our own.”

  
  
  


Maki-chan turns and leaves the room quickly, not even giving you a chance to question who this Nico-chan is and question as to why she refers to her with ‘chan’ when you’ve never heard her do so with anyone else. But you’re quick to shrug it off and scurry off to your room to get dressed. You want to look nice, so you pick one of the cute dresses that Maki-chan got for you, a nice pale green color that complements your complexion well and (according to Maki-chan) fits your figure well. You have to keep your tail curled around your waist because of the length, but when you put on your hat, you look as if you are just another normal human.

 

You take another quick moment to look yourself over to make sure you’re human presentable, and then your slip on your shoes and head back downstairs to wait for Maki-chan. You don’t have to wait long, and then Maki-chan is leading you out the door and down the street, heading toward a ‘train’ that have to take to the ‘amusement park’, whatever that is. You might not know where you’re going, but you’re excited just to be going out with Maki-chan to go spend time with Rin-chan.

 

The train is a bit weird at first, the loud noise and movement throws you off a bit, but you get used to it rather quickly and are captivated by watching the scenery go by so quickly out the window. Maki-chan seems amused by how intently you take everything in and you giggle when the smile you send her is met with a slight blush.

 

It doesn’t take long to get to the ‘amusement park’ and the sight of it just fills you with equal parts excitement and nervousness. The large tracks with little cars zooming past and the crowds of people make you stiffen, but as you and Maki-chan walk closer, you catch sight of a familiar head of red hair and you feel that nervousness turn into a warm feeling in your chest. Just seeing Rin-chan, even from a distance, is enough to put you at ease.

 

“There they are,” Maki-chan says.

 

You take your eyes off Rin-chan for a moment to see the other people who you assume are Nico-chan and her siblings.

 

The girl is shorter than Rin-chan, which is saying something because (now that you have a human perspective) you can tell that Rin-chan is not that tall. Nico-chan has black hair pulled up in twin ponytails on either side of her head and she’s got three children hovering around her as she talks to Rin-chan, the smallest of which is holding her hand.

 

As the two of you get closer, one of the children is the first to notice you and they perk up, turning to Nico-chan and Rin-chan, alerting them to your arrival. Rin-chan’s head whips around to catch sight of you and then she’s bounding over with two of the children not far behind, before pouncing on Maki-chan, rubbing her cheek against Maki-chan’s, not unlike how your mother would greet you when you were a kitten. You giggle at the interaction, drawing Rin-chan’s attention. She blushes and releases Maki-chan, letting the children have a go at your disgruntled friend, before turning to you.

 

“Hanayo-chan! It’s good to see you!”

 

She’s playing with a piece of her hair and fidgeting, a faint blush on her cheeks and not meeting your eyes. You nearly squeal at how cute she is.

 

“It’s good to see you too, Rin-chan.”

 

Rin-chan smiles brightly once again before rushing through introductions between you and the assumed Nico-chan and her siblings. Nico-chan doesn't seem like the most welcoming human, but she does shoot you a (seemingly forced) smile before she starts some inane conflict with Maki-chan. Rin-chan laughs joyfully at their interaction before introducing you to the smaller humans, Cocoro-chan, Cocoa-chan, and Cotaro-kun. They’re all very cute, with the same small stature and red eyes as their older sister and you find that you don’t mind the idea of spending the day with not only Rin-chan and Maki-chan but with these others.

 

After introductions and Maki-chan insisting upon paying for everyone, you all make your way into the park. If you thought standing outside of the park was overwhelming, stepping inside is total sensory overload.

 

You’re pretty sure you’ve never seen this many humans in one place before. They’re all flitting around, going from machine to machine, game to game, all loud and excited. Maki-chan and Nico-chan take the children and move toward the masses, the crowd threatening to swallow them up and take them out of your sight and for a brief moment, you feel a flash of panic. If you get separated, you’re doomed. You aren’t very well versed in human things and you still haven’t got a good grasp on reading yet, and there’s the threat of your ears or tail being exposed and the humans marking you some kind of freak and taking you away, never to see Rin-chan or Maki-chan ever again.

 

The panic rises and you feel your breath quicken slightly, but before you can truly lose yourself in that fear, a warm hand slides into your own. You glance down at it before following the arm up up up to find Rin-chan’s smiling face not too far from your own. She wears a faint blush, but doesn’t release your hand, instead giving it a slight squeeze.

 

“Rin doesn’t want Hanayo-chan to get lost. Is this okay?”

 

Her palm is warm and soft against your own, just a little bit sweaty but you don’t mind. It’s an immediate comfort for you and you feel all the panic that you thought would consume you dissipate. You smile back, endeared to her even further at her kind and attentive action. 

 

"Thank you, Rin-chan. I've never been any place like this before."

 

Rin-chan tugs you along into the crowd after for friends but shoots you a surprised look over her shoulder. She’s going a bit fast for you, but you don’t complain.

 

“You’ve never been to an amusement park?!” she’s loud enough that she draws the attention of some people around you, but she pays them no mind, so you don’t either. “That’s horrible! That means that I have to make this the best trip to an amusement park ever, since it’s your first time! Rin has to make it super special!”

 

You can’t help but blush at how earnest she sounds and you allow yourself to be dragged along to Maki-chan and the others by one of the ‘rides’. The children are chattering excitedly, talking about ‘winning a toy’ later, whatever that means. But the atmosphere is open and fun, and you find yourself smiling, relaxing further despite all the people and stimuli, adjusting your hold on Rin-chan’s hand so that you fingers intertwine. You can see the blush on Rin-chan’s face get redder while she talks to Nico-chan, but she doesn’t react otherwise except for a quick squeeze of your hand.

 

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After a day full of bright smiles and happy exchanges, the sun begins to set and with Nico-chan’s sibling quickly tiring, your group starts to make its way to the exit. You’ll have to admit that you’re a bit tired yourself. This has been probably the most eventful day of your life since being turn into a human and it turns out, spending the day at an amusement park with a couple of children and Rin-chan is pretty exhausting.

 

Rin-chan seems to have boundless energy, bounding from ride to ride or game to game with such happiness that you can’t help but let that joy seep into you as well. Her smile is infectious and so is her enthusiasm, which is how you got roped into going on your first (and hopefully last) rollercoaster of your life. It was just a little bit too intense for you personally and so the next times Rin-chan wanted to go on one, she had to rope Maki-chan into it while you sat out with Nico-chan and her siblings. And while you were there, the Yazawas enlightened you to the wonderful world of idols.

 

You are all making your way toward the exit when one of the game booths catches Rin-chan’s attention.

 

“Wait, wait!”

 

She dashes off in that direction, catching the attention of the children and prompting them to follow her at a sprint.Nico-chan groans loudly.

 

“Rin!” Maki-chan’s shout is laced with annoyance.

 

So your whole group ends up around this booth, watching Rin-chan take a seat and hand the attendant her money.

 

“Rin almost forgot to win Kayo-chin a prize!”

 

She sits there smiling brightly back at the lot of you for a moment before it seems that she realizes what she’s said. She makes a choked sound, going red to the ears, before whipping back around to face the game. Nico-chan sniggers while sharing a look with Maki-chan, the entire exchange ignored by the children as they watch the game begin. You try not to focus on how hard you’re blushing as well.

 

You turn you attention over to the game that Rin-chan is now aggressively focused on and you see that the objective is to get the balls into the little holes so that your character moves on the path to the finish line. At the moment, Rin-chan is in the lead, rolling the balls with such focus that you kind of feel bad for the little girl playing next to her that is definitely not going to win.

 

“Yes!” While your focus was on the little girl for that split second, Rin-chan had given her character the final push, winning the game. Cocoro-chan, Cocoa-chan, and even Cotaro-kun all cheer for her and the attendant gives them a tired smile before handing Rin-chan her prize. It’s a cute plush cat and she takes it triumphantly before standing and turning her attention to you.

 

She’s got that adorable blush on her face, toy clutched in her hands and taking a deep breath before she says anything and you can feel yourself getting embarrassed by this display. Your cheeks are on fire and you know that under your hat, your ears are pressed to your skull.

 

“Ka-Hanayo-chan,” she starts, catching herself before she calls you that nickname from before, “I want you to have this.”

 

Rin-chan thrusts the toy at you, standing there stiffly with the cat outstretched before her and you can feel your blush all the way up to your human ears and down to your chest. The gesture is so sweet and so purely Rin-chan the warm feeling you get whenever you’re near her seems to overflow within you and you feel the start of happy tears in the corner of your eyes. You are quick to wipe them away, not wanting to embarrass yourself further and gracious take the toy from Rin-chan.

 

“Thank you, Rin-chan, I love it.”

 

You start to step back after taking the toy, but there is a little push at your hip and when you look down, you see little Cotaro-kun pointing tacitly at Rin-chan, looking at you meaningfully. After a quick moment of deliberation, you steel yourself and take that step forward, pulling Rin-chan to you firmly for a hug. She stiffens up for a moment, but just for a second before throwing her arms around you and hugging you tightly, rubbing her cheek against your shoulder, prompting you to give into your instincts and do the same.

 

“Oh ew.”

 

Rin-chan pulls back, still bright red, “Shut up, Nico-chan!”

 

“Yeah!” Nico-chan’s sisters pipe in, “Shut up, Onee-chan!”

 

The little girls start to run around Nico-chan, pestering her and thoroughly distracting her from your display, much to Maki-chan and Rin-chan’s amusement. Nico-chan is shouting, drawing attention as she tries to get her sisters to leave her alone, and the rest of you stand there laughing as you look on. You watch to unrestrained joy play across Rin-chan’s face, enraptured by her and unable to resist the pull of her, drifting closer to her again, reaching for her hand without giving yourself a moment to overthink it.

 

At the touch of your hand, Rin-chan turns that radiant smile to you and you can’t help thinking that this is the best day of your life.

 

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The next few weeks are spent not only getting to know more about the human world, but getting to know more about Rin-chan as Koizumi Hanayo. Maki-chan gives you some of her free time teaching you how to read and write and you now have a basic grasp on the language and after Maki-chan taught you how to use a computer, you spent a lot of time watching videos of the idols that Nico-chan introduced you to.

 

Most days you go with Ryo-chan to pick up Maki-chan and to see Rin-chan, only missing it if you get too caught up in idol videos. Rin-chan is always happy to see you and Maki-chan only rolls her eyes a little bit now when the two of you greet each other with blushes and hugs.

 

All the time you spend with Rin-chan is spent discovering new things to love about her. How she loves to run and be active, how her favorite food is ramen, how she likes ‘girly’ things but doesn’t think they’re for her because she doesn't believe that they’d fit her (even though you know Rin-chan is the cutest girl you’ve ever met and that anything she wears will look amazing on her). She is kind and caring and fun, just so lovely that at times, you feel overcome with the need to be closer to her, not only physically, but on another level too. You think that your feelings might be reciprocated if her blushes are anything to go by, but you don’t want to do anything too sudden and ruin what you have. If all you can ever be for Rin-chan is her close friend, you’d take it even if it hurt every day.

 

You learn things about yourself too. That rice is most definitely your favorite food, that idols are magnificent and you love them a lot, and that keeping the cat part of yourself hidden from Rin-chan weighs on your soul the closer the two of you become. You share secrets, Rin-chan confiding in you her insecurities and thoughts, and you want to tell her about your origins, but what if she left you? If Rin-chan cuts all ties with you because of what you were -- well, are -- you wouldn’t be able to bear it. But at the same time, keeping this part of you a secret doesn’t sit well with you.

 

Thinking of these things stresses you out, leaving you a mess of nerves, but you try to shove it out of your mind because the car is approaching the school and you can already see Rin-chan and Maki-chan waiting by the curb.

 

As the car pulls up, you see Rin-chan fidgeting in place, wringing her hands and Maki-chan elbows her hard and mutters something. Rin-chan looks affronted but smiles a bit and then you’re stepping out of the car to greet them.

 

You hug Rin-chan and greet Maki-chan with a smile, “How was your day at school?”

 

“Boring. Same as always,” Maki-chan waves off the question, “I’m going to wait in the car. Rin has something to ask you.”

 

Maki-chan walks away, leaving Rin-chan sputtering after her before she turns her attention to you. She already has a bit of color in her cheeks, a blush no doubt in the makings there, but she takes in one great big breath, stiffening her spine and standing to her full height,

 

“Kayo-chin!” she’s taken to calling you that now (you kind of love it), “Will you go on a date with me?”

 

She said it all on one breath, in a rushed exhale, but you understood.

 

All your blood seems to rush to your face with the force of your blush and you can see that same response mirrored in Rin-chan. But you also can’t stop the rush of happiness that infuses your body at her question. Rin-chan is asking you out! Rin-chan feels the same way about you! This is really happening!

 

“Yes!”

 

Your sudden shout startles the both of you and you quickly slap your hands over your mouth with a high pitched noise, mortified at your overexcited outburst.

 

There is a moment of stunned silence before Rin-chan breaks into a fit of joyful, relieved laughter. Her carefree laugh lessens your embarrassment after a moment and you join in, giggling uncontrollably until you’re leaning on each other for support.

 

Your laughter is just winding down when you hear the car door open and Maki-chan sticks her head out to shout, “Are you two finished? I have homework I need to do.”

 

Rin-chan straightens and wipes her eyes, “Oh shut up, Maki-chan. No one made fun of you when you asked out Nico-chan!”

 

Maki-chan puffs up like a disgruntled bird, glaring hard before retreating back into the car, and slamming the door with a huff.

 

“I should go, before she leaves me,” you’re still breathless from laughter, but you rest one hand on Rin-chan’s arm to soften the words.

 

She nods, “No worries, Kayo-chin. How about we go somewhere on Saturday? I can call Maki-chan to pass along the details. You still don’t have a phone, right?”

 

Walking toward the car, you respond.

 

“Saturday’s fine, Rin-chan. And Maki-chan’s parents said they wanted to get me one, but I don’t want to take advantage of their kindness any more than I already am.”

 

“That’s alright,” she stands by the car as you open the door and move to slide in, “I’ll talk to you later then.”

 

She turns to walk away, but you’re still riding high on the happiness of her asking you on a date and you stop her.

 

“Rin-chan,” you grab her arm and she stops, giving you a moment to press a quick kiss on her cheek, “bye.”

 

Sputtering and blushing, Rin-chan stutters out a goodbye before turning and dashing away, leaving you smiling happily at her antics as you get in the car with Maki-chan.

 

Maki-chan groans, “You guys are so sweet I think I’m getting diabetes.”

 

Ryo-chan in the front laughs right along with you.

 

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Saturday rolls around startlingly quickly, and not just because Maki-chan had only recently taught you the day of the week and how they work. 

 

Maki-chan had taken you out to get a new outfit for your date the day before, so when Saturday morning comes up, you wake up and feel an odd calmness spread over you. You already know what you’re going to wear, you know how you feel about Rin-chan, and you can assume that Rin-chan feels similarly. There is nothing for you to worry too much about so any niggling nervousness is shoved into the recesses of your mind.

 

Rin-chan wants to meet at a shopping center at noon so you dress in your new outfit -- a short sleeve button down, a high waisted skirt, flats, and a tied headband that holds back your bangs and hides your ears -- and let Maki-chan, Ryo-chan, and Rakshata-chan give your outfit a once over before allowing Ryo-chan to drive you over.

 

By the time the car rolls to a stop at the shopping center, you’re starting to feel the nerves, shaking a bit in your seat and wishing you could unwind your tail from your waist to let it do as it pleases in your riled up state, but the second that Rin-chan comes into view, you can feel all your anxiety fade away. You hurry to get out of the car, rushing your goodbye to Ryo-chan as you try to get to Rin-chan as quickly as possible.

 

She smiles brightly at your approach and you once again are hit with the beauty of her smile.

 

“Hi, Kayo-chin!”

 

Rin-chan bounces over and you’re squished in a hug, the warm of which quickly suffuses through the rest of your body, “Hello. Rin-chan.”

 

It’s obvious that Rin-chan is excited about today by the way she’s bouncing around, and she wastes no time in grabbing you by the hand and dragging you off with a loud exclamation of “Let’s go!”.

 

\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

 

Rin-chan spends the day taking you from shop to shop, showing you all kinds of cute clothes and toys, even taking you to a pet shop and giggling over the antics of the puppies and kittens there until Rin-chan’s allergy got the best of her.

 

You’re both flushed with happiness and giddy from the company when Rin-chan starts leading you down a path (that you can vaguely recall from somewhere) as dusk starts to settle in and bring an end to a wonderful day.

 

Rin-chan is leading you along by the hand, fingers intertwined as they have been for the majority of the day, and even though your hand is a bit sweaty she pays it no mind.

 

“Rin wants to show you a special place. I used to play there when I was small, I love it a lot.”

 

As you draw closer, you start to recognize your surroundings more and more, and you realize where Rin-chan is taking you.

 

The park.

 

The place where you met Rin-chan, but as a cat.

 

Your anxiety skyrockets but you try to hide it, not wanting Rin-chan to see that anything was wrong. There’s no way that she could know that you’re the cat she met there. It’s not possible, right? You fight down your rising panic and allow Rin-chan to bring you past the gates and to a bench off to the side of the play areas. You can see the little hidey hole that you were born in, the spots where you would hide when kids would come play, the places where you sat with Rin-chan and listened to her talk.

 

Rin-chan sits down at the bench, and you follow, still holding her hand, but your palm is significantly more sweaty than it was before.

 

“Kay-chin,” she starts, seeking out your gaze to make eye contact, looking more serious and focused than you’ve ever seen her, “I brought you here because this place is really specially to me and  _ you’re  _ really special to me. I-I,” she seems to choke on her words before taking a deep breath and forging on, “I love you, Kayo-chin. I want us to be girlfriends.”

 

She’s got a blush so deep on her cheeks and running down to her chest and up to the tips of her ears and those are the words you’ve need dreaming of hearing ever since you met her as just a little kitty. You know you love Rin-chan and you want so badly to just accept her feelings and go on as girlfriends, but you can’t do that with your secret hanging over your head. You can’t date her without coming clean and if you don’t do it now, you never will.

 

“Rin-chan, I love you too…”

 

She can hear your hesitation and her shoulders slump as she visibly deflates, “But?”

 

Taking a second to steel your nerves, you forge on, “I haven’t been completely honest with you, Rin-chan, about who I am and about how I came to live with Maki-chan.”

 

Rin-chan looks as if she’s going to say something, but you hold up a hand to ask that she let you finish.

 

“I already knew you when I met you that first time I went with Ryo-chan to pick up Maki-chan. I’d met you before, I met you  _ here  _ before. I just didn’t look like this.”

 

She looks at you utterly perplexed, “What do you mean, I would have remembered if I met you, Kayo-chin. I don’t understand.”

 

You stand and lead her over to the merry go round by the hand, “It was right here.”

 

Rin-chan looks between the merry go round and you for a moment, confusion taking a long time to start to change into realization.

 

“No,” she shakes her head so hard it makes her hair flop around, “That’s not possible, it can’t be.”

 

“But it is, Rin-chan,” you say earnestly, “j-just, look.”

 

You reach up to your tied headband and pull it loose, letting your bangs fall back into place and your ears to perk up and twitch at finally being released. At the same time, you allow your rigid control of your tail to lapse and it unfurls from under your skirt and hangs freely as it would regularly, lashing slowly in your nervous state.

 

Rin-chan goes stone still. She stares in shock and confusion at your ears (now pinned back on your skull with anxiety) and she doesn’t even seem to be breathing. You’re breathing on the other hand is starting to speed up the longer you sit there in silence and you’re starting to panic a bit. 

 

This is it. Rin-chan knows and she’s going to reject you and you’ll have become human for nothing. Maybe if you ask Nozomi-chan and Eli-chan they’ll turn you back and let you live out the rest of your life as a cat like you were meant to. Maybe you can even get them to take back your memories of all this, being human and Rin-chan, because you don’t think you’ll be able to live with the memory of your rejection and being without Rin-chan in any capacity.

 

You’re honestly about to stand and bolt in the next two seconds, but in that moment, Rin-chan seems to shake off her stupor and starts to raise her hand toward your head before she stops herself.

 

“Oh, um,” she looks nervous, which you can’t really process in your own nervousness, “can I touch them?”

 

Her question takes you by surprise and before you can even think, you’re nodding, letting her know that she can touch your cat ears.

 

Rin-chan immediately moves to touch, her hands gentle as she strokes along the edge causing your ear to flick at her fingers at the tickling touch, prompting a soft exhale from Rin-chan. She goes on to feel the entirety of your ear, feeling the soft fur that cover them and then moving to the base where they connect to your head, pressing along your skull and dragging a soft purr from your throat at the pleasant sensation.

 

You slap you hand over your mouth when you realise you’re purring, but Rin-chan has already noticed if the smile spreading across her cheeks is anything to go by. She giggles a bit before taking back her hand. You eye her nervously from behind your own hand and after a moment, her sly smile turns into her normally bright one and you see her perk up again.

 

“Kayo-chin, that’s amazing! How did you do it?!”

 

Her enthusiastic is honestly not what you were expecting, at all. In all the scenarios you imagined, it was either rejection or morbidly cautious curiosity, not blatant interest and excitement. But then again, this is Rin-chan you’re talking about and this should have been exactly what you were imagining for this interaction. The relief of her not immediately leaving you manifests in happy tears gathering at the corners of your eyes.

 

“Oh, no!” Rin-chan see the tears and panics, “Rin is sorry, I didn’t mean to make you cry!”

 

Wiping away the tears, you rush to reassure Rin-chan, “N-no, you didn’t do anything wrong! I just- I was afraid you’d leave and never want to see me again after I told you!”

 

“What?! Kayo-chin, this is actually so cool, why would I leave? And Rin just said she loves Kayo-chin, so it would take something a lot worse than this to get me to leave you!”

 

Rin-chan gazes at you with such adoration in her eyes and the heady mix of relief and reaffirmation of her love drives you to act without thinking. You lunge across the space between you, cupping her face and pressing a kiss to her lips.

 

She flails for a moment in surprise before melting into the kiss and after a few seconds you pull back to see a dazed look on her face.

 

“I-I’m sorry, I should have asked before I did that. What if you don’t like that? I’m so s-”

 

She puts a finger to your lips to stop your frantic rambling, “It’s okay, Kayo-chin, I liked it.”

 

Rin-chan is fully red again at this point and you can feel the heat in your own face, but the smiles that are spread across red cheeks are bright even in the growing darkness in the wake of the sunset.

 

“So does this mean that you’ll be my girlfriend?”

 

You laugh loudly at her question but answer anyway, breathless with your mirth, “Yes, definitely, Rin-chan. I would love to be your girlfriend.”

 

She pumps her fist excitedly, bring forth more giggles from you before she reigns herself in a bit, “Now can I hear how you did it?”

 

Smiling widely, you go on to tell her your tale, “Well, it started when Eli-chan, who is a kitsune, too me to see Nozomi-chan.”

 

Rin-chan listens with rapt attention as you go on to tell her the whole story, leaving nothing unsaid in your recount of the events. The sun soons sinks beyond the horizon and the streetlights come up, but neither of you notice, too absorbed in the other to pay it any mind. The only thing that breaks into your little world is Maki-chan calling Rin-chan’s phone looking for you. She pretends not to be worried and then happy when you tell her, but you can hear it in her voice as she says she and Ryo-chan are coming to pick both of you up. When they arrive, you and Rin-chan are a mess of giggles, smiles, and entwined fingers and that’s just the way it will stay from then on.

**Author's Note:**

> this is 13k words for my lack of activity lately, i've still got tons of school shit left so my shit is still gonna take forever to be written and thrown out there, but i hope this can tide some peeps over lmao
> 
> peace out home bois, and you know where to find me on tumblr is you want


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